Dementia patients are to be diagnosed through painful lumbar procedure under National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, guidelines – saving cash for the NHS

The procedure costs £150, about a tenth of the alternative, a brain scan. But it can cause side-effects such as severe headaches lasting up to a fortnight, swelling and lower back pain, experts warn.

Cambridge professor John O’Brien told the Dementias 2018 conference: “It’s actually quite complicated, it’s not well tolerated, there are side-effects, it’s certainly not well delivered in memory services at the current time.”